India defeated Pakistan by 19 runs to secure the gold medal in the Asian Games cricket final, a match that passed without any major controversy despite the ongoing diplomatic tensions and the conspicuous absence of customary handshakes between the teams.
The 12th edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL 12) will take place from March 18 to May 2 next year, maintaining its eight-team format. The dates were confirmed at a Governing Council meeting in London, paving the way for upcoming player signings and auctions.
India has clarified its policy regarding participation in the 2027 South Asian Federation (SAF) Games in Pakistan, stating decisions will align with national sports policies and international governing bodies. While bilateral sporting engagements with Pakistan remain suspended, Indian athletes are permitted to compete in multilateral events. The government also aims to simplify visa processes to position India as a global sports hosting destination.
A report by Scholars at Risk, 'Free to Think 2026', states that academic freedom in India is "severely restricted" due to increasing government influence over higher education, university governance, and curbs on student expression. India is listed among six countries in this category, with its Academic Freedom Index score sharply declining. The report cites instances of faculty dismissals, event cancellations, and pressure on student protests, highlighting the alleged use of the UGC as a vehicle for state influence.
Shops and markets in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir remained closed following a protest call by the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), amidst reports of over 20 deaths in recent police action. The JAAC, now outlawed, is demanding subsidised flour and electricity, and the abolition of "refugee seats." Authorities have offered a reward for the arrest of JAAC leaders, while the PoK "Prime Minister" has called for negotiations.
The International Cricket Council is set to take a slew of punitive actions against Pakistan in the wake of their government's decision to boycott the T20 World Cup match against India, including a possible ban from the upcoming edition of the marquee event.
The NDA government has gradually nuanced its position on the issue of demographic challenge.
Pakistan's decision to boycott its Twenty20 World Cup match against India has drawn widespread support from fans and administrators who hailed the move as a long-overdue stand in a rivalry in which sport and geopolitics have collided.
Both sides have now revealed a preference for escalation over strategic defeat, and each new provocation narrows the space for the next pause. The Touska seizure, Iran's refusal to negotiate under blockade, Israel's strikes on Iranian oil infrastructure -- all of these add up to an increasingly untenable situation. This makes the wild card -- Trump and his motormouth -- more consequential than ever, notes Prem Panicker in his must read blog on the Iran War.
'The next two to three weeks will not be decided in Washington.' 'They will be decided in Tehran, in whatever calculation Iran makes about the costs of continued resistance against the costs of appearing to have yielded.'
Aaditya Thackeray's googly to ICC: Why host T20 WC final in Ahmedabad and not Mumbai?
'In choosing to be fully himself, even when it was uncomfortable, Usman Khawaja expanded the meaning of representation and conscience in Australian sport,' notes Asif Ullah Khan.
The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) has issued fresh guidelines barring journalists from asking political questions at press conferences in an apparent bid to diffuse the volatile situation that has persisted since the India-Pakistan match last Sunday.
The voting for the 13th parliamentary elections was held along with a referendum on a complex 84-point reform package.
It also aims to reduce the powers of the Supreme Court, with some authorities shifted to the proposed Constitutional Court, and immunity to the president from criminal proceedings for life.
Mohsin Naqvi stated that there are no concerns about BCCI secretary Jay Shah becoming the International Cricket Council (ICC) chairman.
'Saudi-Pak defence pact is to anchor the defence and security of Saudi Arabia and not Pakistan, per se, with Islamabad being the junior partner.'
However, minutes after filing this report, news of ceasefire violations in Srinagar have been reported.
'Every Indian knows why the BJP is targeting Hamid Ansari.'
Asif Ali Zardari was overwhelmingly elected as the 14th President of Pakistan on Saturday, becoming the only civilian President of the coup-prone country for a second time.
Rizvi, the long serving legal advisor of the board, made it clear he had initiated defamation and criminal proceedings against Akhtar and also lodged a complaint with the Federal Investigation Agency under its cyber crime laws.
Pakistan will begin their campaign in the Asia Cup on Wednesday taking on Nepal
The Supreme Court has directed a Maharashtra authority to respond to a man's plea for initiating contempt action against it after his properties were demolished for allegedly raising anti-India slogans during a cricket match. The petitioner, who hails from Sindhudurg district in the state, claims his house and shop were demolished on February 24 following an FIR against him, his wife, and his 14-year-old son for allegedly raising anti-India slogans during the India-Pakistan Champions Trophy match. The plea argues that the demolition violated the Supreme Court's November 13, 2024 verdict on demolition of properties, which barred demolition without a prior showcause notice and 15 days' time for the aggrieved party to respond. The petitioner seeks directions for initiating contempt proceedings against the chief officer and administrator of the Malvan Municipal Council.
England previously faced Afghanistan at the 50-overs Cricket World Cup in 2023, as well as at the Twenty20 World Cup in 2022.
A retired Pakistan army officer incurs army chief General Bajwa's wrath, reveals Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at the Research and Analysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency.
At the end of the day, for many worldwide, the ongoing mutual attacks between Israel and Iran would seem a contest devoid of any moral high ground and only a bout between two ordinary adversaries, one that nevertheless risks spinning out of control into a larger conflagration, notes Shyam G Menon.
Whenever tenures of army chiefs were extended in the recent past, prime ministers were subsequently eased out of office by the same army chief, notes Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at RA&W.
The top court said that every month on 3-4 Saturdays, the advocates are on strike on one pretext or the other and had the lawyers worked on those days, it would have achieved the ultimate goal of speedy justice, which is now a fundamental right.
The govt is also criticised for its choice of Khawar Qureshi, who represented Pakistan's case before the ICJ.
The review petition, filed through Dr Babar Awan and Azhar Siddique, named the Pakistan Peoples Party, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, Supreme Court Bar Association, Sindh High Court Bar Association and the Sindh Bar Council as respondents.
The United States on Thursday (local time) evaded a question on whether Pakistan held prior consultations with Washington, DC before conducting retaliatory air strikes on Iran.
'Is the application the Press Council's voice or the government's? 'It has been reported that other members of the PCI were taken aback at the Press Council's application. 'These members need to publicly question the chairman to redeem their own positions,' says Jyoti Punwani.
Apparently trying to dabble in internal rivalry in the Hurriyat, Pakistan has invited hardline leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani as the 'Chairman' of the amalgam along with six other Kashmiri separatist leaders for a meeting in Islamabad later this month.
ICC rejected Khawaja's application to have a sticker showing a black dove holding an olive branch on his bat and shoes during the Boxing Day Test against Pakistan.
With the strain and anxiety of the longest Lok Sabha polls now behind the leaders, governance, with consensus, is the next step.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Monday said the state should stand firmly behind people in the Marathi-speaking areas of neighbouring Karnataka and appealed to political parties not to behave in a way that would hurt them.
The request was made in view of the upcoming elections for ICJ judges, scheduled to be held in November,
Hazlewood to miss out again as Australia announce unchanged playing XI for final Test
In a breakthrough that could end the political uncertainty in Pakistan, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and the Pakistan Peoples Party have agreed on a power-sharing deal to form a new coalition government after intense negotiations following a fractured poll verdict.
Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, 68, and his daughter Maryam, 44, are serving jail terms of 10-years and seven years respectively in Adiala jail in Rawalpindi, after an accountability court convicted them on July 6 over the family's ownership of four luxury flats in London.
